WVC 11 - 3 - 9
§11-3-9. Property exempt from taxation.
(a) All property, real and personal, described in this
subsection, and to the extent limited by this section, is exempt
from taxation:

(1) Property belonging to the United States, other than
property permitted by the United States to be taxed under state
law;

(2) Property belonging exclusively to the state;

(3) Property belonging exclusively to any county, district,
city, village or town in this state and used for public purposes;

(4) Property located in this state belonging to any city,
town, village, county or any other political subdivision of another
state and used for public purposes;

(5) Property used exclusively for divine worship;

(6) Parsonages and the household goods and furniture
pertaining thereto;

(7) Mortgages, bonds and other evidence of indebtedness in the
hands of bona fide owners and holders hereafter issued and sold by
churches and religious societies for the purposes of securing money
to be used in the erection of church buildings used exclusively for
divine worship or for the purpose of paying indebtedness thereon;

(8) Cemeteries;

(9) Property belonging to, or held in trust for, colleges,
seminaries, academies and free schools, if used for educational,
literary or scientific purposes, including books, apparatus, annuities and furniture;

(10) Property belonging to, or held in trust for, colleges or
universities located in West Virginia, or any public or private
nonprofit foundation or corporation which receives contributions
exclusively for such college or university, if the property or
dividends, interest, rents or royalties derived therefrom are used
or devoted to educational purposes of such college or university;

(11) Public and family libraries;

(12) Property used for charitable purposes and not held or
leased out for profit;

(13) Property used for the public purposes of distributing
electricity, water or natural gas or providing sewer service by a
duly chartered nonprofit corporation when such property is not
held, leased out or used for profit;

(14) Property used for area economic development purposes by
nonprofit corporations when the property is not leased out for
profit;

(15) All real estate not exceeding one acre in extent, and the
buildings on the real estate, used exclusively by any college or
university society as a literary hall, or as a dormitory or
clubroom, if not used with a view to profit, including, but not
limited to, property owned by a fraternity or sorority organization
affiliated with a university or college or property owned by a
nonprofit housing corporation or similar entity on behalf of a
fraternity or sorority organization affiliated with a university or college, when the property is used as residential accommodations or
as a dormitory for members of the organization;

(16) All property belonging to benevolent associations not
conducted for private profit;

(17) Property belonging to any public institution for the
education of the deaf, dumb or blind or any hospital not held or
leased out for profit;

(18) Houses of refuge and mental health facility or orphanage;

(19) Homes for children or for the aged, friendless or infirm
not conducted for private profit;

(20) Fire engines and implements for extinguishing fires, and
property used exclusively for the safekeeping thereof, and for the
meeting of fire companies;

(21) All property on hand to be used in the subsistence of
livestock on hand at the commencement of the assessment year;

(22) Household goods to the value of two hundred dollars,
whether or not held or used for profit;

(23) Bank deposits and money;

(24) Household goods, which for purposes of this section means
only personal property and household goods commonly found within
the house and items used to care for the house and its surrounding
property, when not held or used for profit;

(25) Personal effects, which for purposes of this section
means only articles and items of personal property commonly worn on
or about the human body or carried by a person and normally thought to be associated with the person when not held or used for profit;

(26) Dead victuals laid away for family use;

(27) All property belonging to the state, any county,
district, city, village, town or other political subdivision or any
state college or university which is subject to a lease purchase
agreement and which provides that, during the term of the lease
purchase agreement, title to the leased property rests in the
lessee so long as lessee is not in default or shall not have
terminated the lease as to the property;

(28) Personal property, including vehicles that qualify for a
farm use exemption certificate pursuant to section two, article
three, chapter seventeen-a of this code and livestock, employed
exclusively in agriculture, as defined in article ten, section one
of the West Virginia Constitution: Provided, That this exemption
only applies in the case of such personal property used on a farm
or farming operation that annually produces for sale agricultural
products, as defined in rules of the Tax Commissioner; and

(29) Any other property or security exempted by any other
provision of law.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, no property is exempt from taxation which has been
purchased or procured for the purpose of evading taxation whether
temporarily holding the same over the first day of the assessment
year or otherwise.

(c) Real property which is exempt from taxation by subsection (a) of this section shall be entered upon the assessor's books,
together with the true and actual value thereof, but no taxes may
be levied upon the property or extended upon the assessor's books.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, this
section does not exempt from taxation any property owned by, or
held in trust for, educational, literary, scientific, religious or
other charitable corporations or organizations, including any
public or private nonprofit foundation or corporation existing for
the support of any college or university located in West Virginia,
unless such property, or the dividends, interest, rents or
royalties derived therefrom, is used primarily and immediately for
the purposes of the corporations or organizations.

(e) The Tax Commissioner shall, by issuance of rules, provide
each assessor with guidelines to ensure uniform assessment
practices statewide to effect the intent of this section.

(f) Inasmuch as there is litigation pending regarding
application of this section to property held by fraternities and
sororities, amendments to this section enacted in the year one
thousand nine hundred ninety-eight shall apply to all cases and
controversies pending on the date of such enactment.

(g) The amendment to subdivision (27), subsection (a) of this
section, passed during the two thousand five regular session of the
Legislature, shall apply to all applicable lease purchase
agreements in existence upon the effective date of the amendment.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2014 1st Special Session
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